Glassware annealing leer



Dec. 29 1933. J. R. HOGE GLASSWARE ANNEALING LEER Filed May 25, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet J'Ofi EOGE, OF TOLEZ DO, GHIO, ASSIGN 0133 '30 OFIENS-ILLNOS GLASS CGIEA Y,

' TOLEDO, 013110, .A CORPORATEGN OF OHIO GrLASSWABE ANNEALIMG- LIBER Application filed May 25, 1928. Serial No. 2803431.

The present inventon relates to improvemente in glassware annealing leers and more particularly to that type of leer including an elongated tunnel or annealing chamber thru which Ware is carried for tempering.

In glassware annealing leers of ordinary construction, the annealing chamhers are provided with stationary roots which are spaced above the leer conveyor a sufiicient distance to permit annealing of a Wide range of Ware. Since the roots are stationary the dimensions of the ;Zones thru which the ware passes remain unchanged regardless of whether large or small ware is being annealed. Obviously, when small ware is losing annealed, it is desirahle and, in fact, essential to good annealng to hold the hottest or most effective portions of the annealing gases in the lower areas of the chamher for direct contact with the ware. This condition is not readily obtainahle in the average ieer because of the presence of relatively large open spaces above' the Ware. Thus when small ware is being annealed the hotter portons of the annealing gases quick ly pass over the ware and rise into the 'spaces above the iatter so that the period of actual contact of the heated medium with the Ware is quite short. Accordingly, the Consumption of a great Volume of uel has been necessary in order to maintain a uniform high temperature in the heating zone. Overcomng the stated ohj ections hy increasing the voiume of fuel consumed quite ohviously involves a eonsiderahie increase in the cost of annealing and in addition does not always ohtain areas thru which the ware to he annealed' actually moves. mos., the necessity for hrmgng the temperature of the upper areas of the leer tunnel to the same degree as the areas thru which the Ware passes, in order that the Ware may be properly heated, is avoided. Accordingly, the Volume of fue] consumed may be materially decreased. Also, substantially all of the heating medium introduced into the leer tunnel is applied to the Ware and retained in contact therewith during a major portion of its period of effectiveness. This is in direct contrast to ordinary y Operating conditions in which there is a great loss in. eficiency because the annealing medium passes rapdly over the Ware and immediateiy moves into the upper areas of the leer wherein it performs no useful function.

Another object is to provide means where hy the hafiie plates may be angularly adjusted indepen'dentlyof each other to thereby to a greater or less degree predetermine the temperature gradient thru given areas or" the ieer tunnel. Accordingly, the annealing medium may he confined at the forward end of the leer almost entirely to the lower areas thru which the ware actually moves, and then allowed to move upwardly above the pianeof the upper ends of the ware in a progressve fashion toward the delivery end of the leer as the medium moves rearwardly thru the leer tunnel. Thus, the effeotiveness of the heat applied to the ware is gradually diminished in a manner to cool the ware without producina strains or stresses ther-ein.

Other dhjects will be apparent hereinafter.

In the acconpanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation with parts in section, of a portion of a leer emhodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a ragmentary elevaton in detail illustrating the means for adjusting the baffie plates.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional `view illustrating the manner in which the battle plates are supported in the ieer tunnel.

Fig. L is a detail sectional elevation of the means for changing the angular relation hetween the bae plates.

Fig. 5 is a sectionai View of the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Fig; 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of' another form of the invention in which the ing chamber having vertical side walls 11 connected together at their upper ends by a stationary horizontal roof 12. An endless ware conveyor 13 extends thru the leer tunnel, running over vertcally spaced conveyor 10 rolls 14 at the forward end of the leer, said conveyor being suitabl supported on .a horizontal support 15. Mans to supply an annealing medium to the annealing chamber 10 comprises, according to the present disclo- 15 sure, a recuperator and heating unit 16 arranged between the horizontal reaches of the conveyor at the front end of the leer and return pipes or conduits 17 extending lengthwise of the leer and communicating with the annealing chamber by way of suction boxes 18. A suction fan 19 is interposed between the suction boxes and heating unit to force circul'ation of the annealing medium thru the annealing chamber and return pipes.

The suction boxes 18 preferably include face plates 18% forming portions of the lining for the side walls of the annealing Cham ber 10 and provided with a series of perforations or exhaust openings 20 thru which the spent annealing medium is exhausted to the return pipes 17; A slide valve 21 (Figure 1) is arranged for vertical movement over one surface of the facing plate 18 to predetermine the highest elevation at which the annealing medium is to be exhausted from' the annealing chamber. The advantage of this feature and its efiect upon operation of the leer will be apparent hereinafter.

A series of baflle plates 25 is arranged in the annealing chamber 10, said plates being spaced apart in the direction of the length of the leer conveyor 13. Each battle plate is Secured intermediate its upper and lower ends to a transverse rock shaft 26 (Figures 1` and 3), said shaft having its ends projected thru the side walls 11 of the leer and Furnalled in bearings 27 'in said walls. referably sealing strips 28 of asbestos or like material are fixed to the side edges of the bafiie plates 25 for a purpose hereinafter pointed out.

One end of the rock shaft 26 extends a considerable distance beyond the side wall 11 and is formed with an angular end portion 28 adapted for engagement with a tool by `which said shaft may be given a rotary movement to change the angular' position of the baflle plate. A gear or pinion 29 is loosely mounted on the rock shaft 26 and runs in 50 mesh with the teeth of a rack bar 30 which may be reciprocated to angularly adjust a group of bafiie plates. A pointer 31 (Figures 2, 4 and 5) is non-rotatively Secured to the rock shaft 26 and is aligned with the correl sponding baflle plate and co-operates with' graduations 32 arranged adjacent said pointer. Thus, thepo'inter 31 accurately indicates the angular position of the corresponding bafiie plate, thereby facilitating ,adjustment of said plates.

A bearing plate or disk 33 is non-rotatively fixed to the shaft 26 inwardly from the pointer 31 and preferably in contact with the inner face of the latter. This disk also bears against the outer end of the adjacent hearing 27 for the rock shaft 26. A retaining nut 34- (Figures 4 and 5) is threaded on the rock shaft 26 outwardly' from the ppening 29 and is provided with teeth 35 on its inner face to engage the adjacent face of the hub 36 of said pinion. A lock nut 37 insures retention of the nut 34 in engagement with the pinion 29 so that driving connection between the pinion 29 and shaft 26 is obtained.

Mechanism to simultaneously change the an'gular ppsiton of the entire group of baffle plates includes a control rod 40 which connects the rack bars 30 to each other. Suitable supporting brackets 41 (Figures 2 and 4) are Secured to one side wall of the leer, said brackets each comprising a substantially U-shaped portion providing a slideway 42 in which the control rod is slidingly arranged. Preferably, these brackets 41 are positioned immediately below the gears or pinions 29 in which position they insure mesh-- ing of the teeth of the rack bars and associated pinions. Reciprocation of the control rod 40 imparts a rocking movement to each transverse shaft 26 so that the bafile plates supported on said shafts are adjusted to change the degree of clearance between leer conveyor 13 and the lower ends of said plates and thereby vary the cross sectional area of the zone thru which the ware passes.

Mechanism to actuate the control rod 40 (Figure 2) may comprise a housing 43 mounted on one side wall of the leer and enclosing a worm gear 44 threaded on an eX- tension 45 of the push rod 40, said worm gear running in mesh with a worm 46 to which rotary movement is imparted by manual rotation of a hand wheel 47, the latter being mounted on a shaft 48 which carries said worm 46.) o

A sectional partition 49 extending transversely of the annealing chamber is arranged at the inner end of the series of battle plates to prevent or at least minimize the rearward movement cof the annealing medium thru areas above the baflie plates. Movement of the annealing medium in these areas quite obviously Would tend to reduce the effectiveness of the battle plates 'in their functioning as a means for retaining the most effective portions of the` annealing medium in proximity to the leer conveyor 13. This sectional partition preferably comprses a pair ot plates 50 having their meeting marginal p0'.' tions overlapping and slidingly Contacting esaiea with each other and suitably connected together to permit relative slidng. The lower plate is hinged to the lower edge of the innermost bafi le plate 25 (Figure 1), while the upper plate 50 is hinged to a rod 51 in proximity to the roof o the annealing chamber.

In operating a leer of the type shown and including the features above set forth, the annealing medium is forced to circulate thru the recuperator and heating unit 16 and to move at variable rates of speed rearwardly thru the annealing chamber from which the medium is exhausted thru suction boxes 18. l? rom the suction boxes, the annealing medium passes thru the return pipes 17 and suction fan 19 to the recuperator and heating By arranging a series of bathe plates 25 the annealing chamber and giving them an inciinaiton in the direction shown in Figure 1, the rearwardly moving annealing medium is at least for the greater part, directed along a substantially horizontal path in the lower areas of the annealing chamber indirect contact with the ware passing thru these areas. The forced rearward movement oi' the annealing medium, together with the inclination ot the bathe plates, practically insures retention of the most effective portions of the annealing medium in contact with the Ware.

The length of the soaking period or heating zone may be predetermined by varying the relative angular positions of the bame plates and by utilizing selected suction boxes along the annealing chamber. In this connection,

it is evident that the first suction box, that is the one nearest the ware receving end of the leer, may be opened so that the annealing medium is exhausted from the annealing chamber at this point. Thus, the heating zone is Shortened the greatest possible extent and the temperature of the ware begins to decrease as it moves rearwardly beyond this suction box. To further assist in controlling the effectiveness and length of the heating zone and provide for gradual cooling of the Ware beyond a predetermined point, the baflie plates from a point rearwardly may have their angles of inclination decreased to thereby progressively increase the height of the zone t-hru which the Ware passes. Thus, the annealing medium is permitted to rise difi'ercnt distances above the Ware as the latter moves thru the annealing chamber, with the result that the Ware is gradually brought to atmospheric temperature.

By vertically adjusting the slide valves 21 of the suction boxes 18 to close all outlet open- 'ings above the lower edges of the baffle plates 25, the suction boxes materially assist said bathe plates in holding the annealing medium in the lower areas of the `annealing chamber. It is evident that the suction applied to these boxes and the area thru which the Ware passes,.tends to move the annealing medium thru the shortest path from the recuperator and heating unit 16 to the active exhaust openings 20 in the suction boxes and consequently very little of the annealing medium rises into the upper areas.

Jin another form of the invention (Figure 6) the bame plates 25 are fixed at their upper ends to transverse rock shafts 26 arranged in proximty to the root 12 of the annealing chamber. A Connector rod is connected at unifornly spaced points by pins 61 or the like to the lower portions of bae plates 25 to insure retention of the plates in proper angular relation to each other, ln this form, the mounting of the plates precludes the necessity for using the partition 19 (Figure 1), in that the probability of the annealing medium inoving rearwardly above the bafie plates is practicaliy eliminated. Means to adjust these bafile plates may comprise mechanism such as shown in Figure 2.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

l Vhat 1 claim is:

1 ln a glassware annealing leer the combination of an annealing chamber, means to carry ware thru said chamber, a series of parallel shafts extending transversely of the direction of travel of the ware thru the chamber above the ware carrying means, battle plates carried by said shafts, rack and pinion mechanism operable to simultaneously and uniformly vary the angular relation between the plates and conveyor, and means whereby each shaft may be rocked independently of the rack and pinion mechanism to change its angular relation to the other bame plates and leer conveyor.

2. In a glassware annealing leer, an annealing chamber including a fixed roof, a leer conveyor spaced below the root, and a series of inclined bafiie plates arranged between the roof and conveyor in overlapping relation to each other.

3. In a glassware annealing leer, an annealing chamber including a fixed roof, a leer conveyor spaced below the root, a series of inclined baflle plates arranged between the roof and conveyor in overlapping relation to each other, and means to adjust said baffie plates to vary the spaced relation between the leer conveyor and the lower ends of the baflie plates.

4. In a glassware annealing leer, an annealing chamber including a fixed roof, a leer conveyor s aced below the roof, a series of inclined ba e plates arranged between the roof and conveyor in overlapping relation to each other, means to vary the angular relation between the baflle plates, and means whereby the entire series of plates may be angilarly adjusted in unison to vary the' spaced relation betweenthe lower ends of the plates and the leer conveyor.

5. 111 a glassware annealing leer, an ane negling chamber having a stationary roof, a

Ware conveyer spaced below the roof, a series of'pvoted baffie plates arranged between the conveyer and roof and so relatively Spaced that they may be adjusted to provide a substantially horizontal partition, and means 'for angularly adjusting the baflie plates.

Signed at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, this 23111 day of May,

JOHN RALPH HOGE. 

